Henry More Smith was an escaped prisoner who would likely hang if brought to trial. The public was outraged and Sheriff Bates was pursuing him like a man possessed. Was the fugitive keeping to the woods, catching a few hours of fitful sleep where he could and pushing on through the cold October nights in a desperate attempt to get away? Not the Lunar Rogue!

He was holed up in Jack Paterson’s hay shed a few miles outside of Fredericton. By day he slept and looked around the shed, by night he climbed aboard his stolen pony, rode into Fredericton and robbed the citizens blind.

It could have been boredom or a sense of adventure, but it was more likely sheer arrogance that prompted Henry to pay a visit to the Attorney-General, who was entertaining guests when Henry came to call. Barbara Grantmyre, in her book “The Lunar Rogue” which was published by Brunswick Press in 1963, wrote of his visit, “He neither knocked nor rang but entered with his usual stealth, cleared the hall of outer garments, and left as quietly as he had come. Three plaid cloaks, five topcoats, and a corresponding number of comforters and tippets must have made a bulky load for the pony. Henry rewarded him with a feed of hay when they got back to his hide-out”.

The Attorney-General’s embarrassment must have been acute as his guests faced a chilling ride home in open carriages near the end of October. It’s unlikely Henry would have risked robbing the Attorney-General’s residence for the sake of a few coats and blankets but the scenario would have undoubtedly appealed to the Lunar Rogue.